Council apologises to tenant, withdraws claim company supplies military equipment to Israeli Defence Forces

Somerset Council has apologised to one of its commercial property tenants for stating that the company supplied weapons used by the Israeli armed forces in Gaza.

The council in April passed a motion that claimed Elbit UK - a tenant of its 600 Aztec West industrial estate - was “a major UK based provider of weapons to the Israeli Defence Forces, used in the current Gaza catastrophe“.

This went on to say that the council resolved to “explore all ways of legally evicting Elbit UK or otherwise, to dispose of the property” and to “ensure that moral and ethical considerations assume equal weight to financial advantage in any future commercial property investments for yield”.

But a later Somerset supplemental note to the motion said: “On 23 April 2024, Somerset Council voted on a motion in respect of a commercial investment property it owns at 600 Aztec West. That motion included a statement that ‘the tenant Elbit UK [is] a major UK based provider of weapons to the Israeli Defence Forces, used in the current Gaza catastrophe’.

“Elbit Systems UK Limited have contacted us to say this is factually incorrect and they do not supply weapons or military equipment to the Israeli Defence Forces or the Israeli Ministry of Defence.

“The Council would like to apologise and withdraw the statement that Elbit Systems UK Limited supplies military equipment to the Israeli Defence Forces or the Israeli Ministry of Defence.”

An Elbit Systems UK spokesperson said: “We continue to invest and expand our range of services in the United Kingdom, providing critical support and advanced technology to the British armed forces from Aztec West 600 and other sites across the country.”